Author Pov:
By late afternoon, Operation Date Investigation was falling apart.
Mostly because nobody actually knew what they were doing.
Ci-N had lost the whiteboard.
Felix was tired.
Drew was eating Calix's snacks.
Jennie had threatened to leave six separate times.
And somehow Jay and Keifer were still completely unaware.
At least, that's what the investigators thought.
The date itself had gone surprisingly well.
No disasters.
No emergency trips to the hospital.
No arguments.
No Ci-N.
Which was honestly impressive.
The sun was beginning to set as Jay and Keifer walked through a quieter part of town.
For once, neither of them was in a hurry.
Neither of them was arguing.
Neither of them was being interrupted.
Jay glanced at him.
Jay: You know, this went better than I expected.
Keifer: Your expectations were that low?
Jay: We know Section E.
Keifer: Fair.
They continued walking.
Then Jay laughed suddenly.
Jay: Ci-N is absolutely investigating this right now.
Keifer: Definitely.
Jay: Think they're hiding somewhere?
Keifer: Probably.
Unfortunately for them—
They were correct.
Across the street.
Behind a bush.
A very suspicious bush.
The investigators were watching.
Felix: They're onto us.
Ci-N: Impossible.
Jennie: You're hiding behind a bush.
Ci-N: A tactical bush.
Jennie: That's not a thing.
Back on the sidewalk, Jay and Keifer stopped walking.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The day was ending.
Neither really wanted it to.
Jay looked up at him.
Jay: So.
Keifer: So.
Jay: This was your big plan?
Keifer: I never claimed to have a plan.
Jay: That's true.
A small smile appeared on her face.
Keifer smiled back.
Then, after a brief pause, Jay stepped closer.
The conversation stopped.
The teasing stopped.
Everything else seemed to disappear for a second.
They shared a quick kiss.
Simple.
Quiet.
Just the two of them.
Across the street.
The investigators froze.
Completely.
Absolutely.
Frozen.
Felix: ...
Drew: ...
David: ...
Ci-N: ...
Rory: ...
Jennie: Oh my God.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Then—
Ci-N: MISSION FAILED.
Felix: MISSION FAILED.
Drew: MISSION FAILED.
David: WE WERE NOT SUPPOSED TO SEE THAT.
Everyone immediately retreated.
At maximum speed.
Monday.
Section E.
8:01 AM.
The classroom was unusually quiet.
Which was terrifying.
Jay noticed immediately.
Jay: Why is everyone acting weird?
Nobody answered.
Jay: That's even worse.
Keifer sat down beside her.
Keifer: Agreed.
Across the room, Ci-N was staring at his desk.
Felix was staring at the wall.
Drew looked emotionally damaged.
David refused to make eye contact.
Jay: What happened to them?
Keifer: No idea.
The silence lasted exactly three minutes.
Then Ci-N stood up.
Ci-N: I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT.
Everyone groaned.
Jennie: Sit down.
Ci-N: NEVER.
He pointed dramatically at the class.
Ci-N: Operation Date Investigation has concluded.
Felix: Tragic.
Drew: Truly tragic.
David: We saw things.
Jay: What does that mean?
Ci-N: Nothing.
Jay: Ci-N.
Ci-N: Nothing.
Jay: Ci-N.
Ci-N: NOTHING.
The entire class immediately became suspicious.
Especially Jay.
Five minutes later.
The truth came out.
Because David accidentally admitted everything.
Which led to screaming.
A lot of screaming.
Jay: YOU FOLLOWED US ALL DAY?!
Ci-N: FOR SCIENCE.
Jay: THAT'S NOT SCIENCE.
Jennie: I've been saying that for two days.
Keifer: I'm never trusting any of you again.
Felix: Understandable.
Drew: Completely understandable.
Ci-N: Worth it.
Jay: No it wasn't.
Ci-N: Agree to disagree.
By lunch, the entire school somehow knew about Operation Date Investigation.
Nobody knew how.
Everyone blamed David.
David blamed Ci-N.
Ci-N blamed "circumstances."
And Section E returned to its usual state of complete chaos.
Which, according to everyone involved, meant things were finally back to norm